Rent in Germany : Hot & Cold

You finally convinced a landlord to rent you a flat. You ! Among the 100 people that applied for the same flat, he has chosen you. Take time to say thanks to the Big Guy up there and ask yourself the question :

“What am i going to pay my landlord every month exactly ?”

Don’t think about it too long though…

Rent in Germany is usually presented as “kalt” (cold) or “warm”

Warm rent in Germany usually corresponds to an “all inclusive” rent. It means that all extra-costs are included, should they be electricty (“Strom”), gas or water expenses. Depending on what you have signed up for, it can also include internet or/and TV although it is not usual. Make sure to have an understanding in the contract.

Cold rent in Germany is no more than what you owe the landlord every month. All other extra costs will have to be undertaken by yourself. Contracts with gas, electricity, water and internet providers will have to be made by you only. The landlord won’t be involved there.

The point to take from this is simply to prefer a warm rent over a cold one if you plan to stay for a relatively short amount of time in Berlin or Germany. It’s extremly difficult to get out of a contract for electricty or gas.

Nebenkosten – the devil is in the details

Some other extra-costs “Nebenkosten” can be paid in the rent; by you or the landlord. Every tenant in your building pays its share to cover them.

Grundsteuer – covers up costs for local taxes

Beleuchtung – covers up costs of lights in the corridors and stairs

Hausreinigung / Hausmeisterdienst – covers up costs for having a janitor

14 Comments

Hey, I am moving to Berlin in the next couple of weeks and am loving the information on this site so thanks! Quick question: is it usual to expect agency fees? (Some websites are charging 500 EUR fee on top of the deposit to the landlord + rent.)

Hi, I have moved into expensive student Wg and here has been a problem with the hot water. We did not have hot water for 1 month and I emailed and email, got a slight rent reduction but all I wanted was hot water to shower in. Since then the water is merely lukewarm, not hot enough to enjoy a shower or to sterilize dishes (no dishwasher). They do not take me seriously, they say wverytime i E-Mail that they have checked and it is hot and they found no problem, which is a lie. What can I do? I can’t find alfalfa about what the temperature should be or the process for legal action. Thanks in advance Una

Hello everyone, my boyfriend and I are moving to Passau next September. We are looking already for options online. Nevertheless, we have been told not to sign anything until we have a chance to see the apartment first. I have recently contacted someone offering an apartment but I am not really sure if it is warm or cold rent. These are the fees: Kosten Miete: 470€ Nebenkosten: 120€ Sonstige Kosten: n.a. Kaution: 1410€

In the nebenkosten item is it included gas, electricity, water and Internet costs? How do I know?

On the other hand, the guy offered me the option to sign the contract by email and asked me this info to get it done: names, date of birth, copy of passport, emailadresses and handynumbers. Is it usual? What is your advice?

Hello friends, I’m currently living in Munich at a private campus dorm. I have recently purchased an air conditioner due to the up coming hot summer. I was wondering, if I had to pay extra for my electricity due to more usage, although all the utilities are included in the rent. Just want to make sure If there is a limit. Thank you in advance.

I have a question about housing contract. I recently signed a contract with starting 15.04.2018. The contract is for 12 months and after that I have to give a notice of 3 months before leaving the apartment. As per agreement, I pay the deposit and collect the keys before 15.04, but at the moment I haven’t paid anything yet. Due unforeseen circumstances, I no longer want to rent the apartment(nothing wrong with the apartment). If I want to cancel my rental contract now (its been less than a week since i signed it), what would be the repurcussions? Is it possible to do so, if so will I have to pay them to cancel my contract? Could you please help me or direct me to the place?

Hi Jym. You may want to check the part of the contract that is about “Widerrufsrecht”, which defines the conditions to cancel the contract after signing it. Maybe there is a clause allowing you to cancel it. However, as a rule, you cannot get out of it. Source.

My rent is 680 Euro but i pay 100 euros extra each month along with my rent to my landlord ( which i think for the Warm Rent ) i pay separately for the electricity and internet by myself. But this whole winter , most of the time, i was traveling outside Germany and did not user heaters too much.

Now my question is what is going to happen with extra 100 euros that i have been paying to my landlord since July , 17 ? If i am paying for my electricity monthly , then how this 100 euros each month will be setteled in the end ? How would landlord know how much heating or warm water did i use ?? Kindly suggest.

Could you elaborate on the terms of utilities contracts? Do you have to commit to a year or something? In the States, I’m used to just paying for those on a month-to-month basis and being able to terminate them whenever I want.

It depends. For example, speaking for Berlin here, Vattenfall is sort of the standard electricity provider if the tenant or the landlord has not switched to another one. In this case, commitment is quite limited and i think only a 1-month notice is required before getting out of the contract. When switching to another provider, a one year commitment is pretty standard but can be tied to price-guarantees. (If price for electricity goes above a given threshold per Watt/hour, you can get out of the contract whenever you want). You can also pay on a monthly basis.

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